Alaina Enslan began creating narrative collages while studying at the University of Montevallo. This self portrait was part of her final project toward her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Alaina Enslan’s earliest memory with art was having to draw a still-life in second or third grade. Placed before her were vases of flowers, shoes, books, a skull, and a bunch of knick-knacks. At first she didn’t think she would enjoy drawing the objects, but once she started, she couldn’t stop.
“It was one of those moments that clicked,” said Enslan, a two-year resident of Cornwall-on-Hudson. “I could have sat there and drawn the rest of the school day. I was just fascinated with the simplicity of just drawing the lines of the work and the shading and being able to take something three dimensional and put it in two dimensions. Art was really my first language. It was easier for me to express myself visually. I just kept with it. It was easy for me. It made me feel alive. It helped me connect and understand the world around me.”
Enslan’s love of art continued in college as she graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montevallo in Alabama. It was in college where she was first attracted to the narrative collage, which tells the story of a subject, whether it be a person or a place. Her inspiration was photo-realist Chuck Close.
“The challenge was trying to find a way of building a portrait using different materials. I love textures, papers, and fabrics. I wanted to make a collage out of papers and fabrics. I started using coloring books for my mother-in-law and maps for my dad because we traveled all over the world. I started to incorporate more memorabilia that started telling more of people’s stories. Then I started working with the Universities of Georgia and Alabama building portraits of their coaches.”
When she was invited to create a portrait of University of Alabama football coach Paul Bryant, she incorporated his tie, post cards, ticket stubs, and old football catalogs/magazines.
“It makes it more personal.”
Hanging on the wall in her home is a narrative collage of the American Flag made up of photos she took at West Point. She also has collages of her and her husband, which she created as a requirement to complete her degree.
Enslan creates portraits for others, as well. She said it takes about three weeks to complete a portrait. The more materials she has, the better the story. The materials she uses make up her palette. She typically works from a black and white photograph in order to capture all the tones and values. Examples of her collage work can be found on enslanart.com.
While in college, Enslan also dabbled in photography, but it wasn’t until she and her husband, Joshua, started having children that she started focusing more on it.
“When I had my kids and didn’t have a studio, I had to think smaller and faster. Photography gives you that quick, instant gratification. I started experimenting with digital photography and just having fun with layers and trying to incorporate texture.”
Before Enslan could work with digital photography, however, she had to be willing to give up taking photos with film.
“I didn’t want to do it. I was kicking and screaming because I love that there’s so much texture that you get and rawness and grittiness working in the dark room. It was so expensive there was no way I could afford to get into digital and get the quality that I wanted. I didn’t get my first DSLR until 2005. I was doing it all manually up until that point.”
When a friend convinced her to make the switch to digital, the love was immediate. Enslan enjoyed working with Photoshop the most and being able to experiment with layering and double exposure.
“What you could do was just phenomenal. I always love to experiment and getting into something new and challenging myself. I saw it as a challenge. I like to explore. I’m a student of life. It’s exciting. It makes me feel alive to be able to create and find new techniques and try to experiment.”
Enslan regrets not making the switch sooner. She feels behind because there’s so much to learn about digital photography.
When Enslan and her husband moved to the Hudson Valley, she was immediately inspired by the landscape. She enjoys taking photographs of children and families, and also incorporates photos into her collages. Examples of her photos can be seen at alainaenslan.com.
Enslan is also a teacher of the arts. In the spring, she began an after school program, once a week, at Cornwall-on-Hudson Elementary School, introducing students to different mediums. Student artwork can be seen hanging in Hudson Street Cafe. Enslan is in the process of forming another workshop which would allow kids to write and illustrate their own books, then read them aloud at 2 Alices Coffee Lounge. Prior to working in the village, Enslan taught at Windsor Academy, teaching the kids basic techniques in painting, chalk drawing, and clay. She also introduced them to modern and contemporary artists.
Being a mom of children ages 10, 7, 3, and 11-months-old, Enslan currently sees herself as a part-time artist and a full-time mom. She loves introducing them to the art world.
“That’s why I’m teaching right now. My children love to do art and I want to be able to encourage them and make what I love to do fun and exciting for them as well.”
In the spring, Enslan plans to conduct photography and collage workshops, for the public, at the Grail.
If you are an artist living in Cornwall or Cornwall-on-Hudson, and you would like to be featured in a future edition of The Local, e-mail jasonkaplan@thecornwalllocal.com.
